Pinter plays

To the theatre this week to see two one-act Pinter plays, both starring Gina McKee. Not only is Gina a fellow Mackem but she's one of my most favourite actresses. I've loved watching her ever since she starred in Our Friends in the North. I was told to expect lots of...


...pauses in the Pinter play and he didn't disappoint.

Coronation Street Weekly Update

I've been writing Coronation Street Weekly Updates for th'internet since 1995.

The latest weekly update has just gone live here and you can read it if you'd like to but there's no obligation, oh no.

This week the update wears its white stilletos with pride.

Alison Moyet

Spent Sunday night at the London Palladium watching the most stunning gig as Alison Moyet took the stage. The picture of Alison here was taken by a chap called David, a fellow Moyet fan who posted some pictures of the gig online.

I've grown up with Alison Moyet's music providing the soundtrack to my life. To see her on stage, again, was, well, I'm still smiling and that says it all. Her cover of Momma Momma as an encore almost had me in tears. Watch it live here.

Roll on June when Yazoo hit London again. Yes, I've got me tickets already.

Naming Flora

It's January, it's cold and it's wet. There's not much to do in the garden this time of year except to wait for green shoots to pop out of the ground. Here's a couple of pics from the garden taken today. The one above shows our bird box surrounded by Clematis Freckles and the second shows crocus around the bottom of the apple tree. Oh yes, Flaming Nora does Naming Flora.

Women and beer

Regular readers(*) will know I'm a laydee who likes a drop of real ale every now and then. If you didn't know, you can read more on me waxing lyrical about the merits of good beer here in Fancy a Fruity Blonde? and I profess my love of beer here.

And so, as you can imagine, I'm over the moon to discover there's a blog for girls just like me, it's called the Girl's Guide to Beer Blogspot, written by Melissa Cole, who has my dream job. She's a freelance beer writer and a Guild of Beer Writers committee member.

(*)you lovely, lovely people.

Coronation Street Weekly Update

I've been writing Coronation Street updates for th'intenet each week since 1995 (gave or take the odd week off for good behaviour).

The latest weekly update has now gone live here.

This week the update comes with a bottle of Kalms but, sadly, no Vera Duckworth.

Credit Crunch

There's a man on the telly who insists we're having a credit crunch. Have you had yours? I'm not sure I've had mine and I feel somewhat left out. Even better, I'd like to know what one is.

I think I heard my credit credit squeak a bit when I loaded it up with Chrimbo pressies and it gave a definite sigh of relief when I paid it off in the New Year. But there hasn't been a crunch sound, not yet.

Poetry spot

When there's someone in cyberspace
Trying to take your place
You type tomatoes
And so do they
Following in your footsteps
Wearing your cyber shoes
Copying what you do
It's creepy and quite scary
But kind of flattering too

For more of me poems on the blog, have a look here.

Vera Duckworth, RIP

After 33 years, Vera Duckworth's gone and died, popped her clogs in her slippers and slipped away from the Street. For a fantastic review of the double episode which sent Vera to her grave, have a look at Nancy Banks-Smith's review from The Guardian. It's almost as good as the episodes itself and brought me to the brink of tears again. By 'eck, Bill Tarmey as Jack did well.

Coronation Street Podcast

I have now cast my latest Corrie pod at The Soap Show website. You can listen to me in all my glory right here. But only if you'd like to.

Another poke at Facebook

There's a wonderful, truly beautiful article in today's Guardian by Tom Hodgkinson on why not to sign up for Facebook. I agreed with nearly every word but especially this sentence. It was almost poetic:

We are seeing the commodification of human relationships, the extraction of capitalistic value from friendships.

Now then, regular readers will know I'm no fan of Facebook and if you'd like to read it, here's my take on social networking sites:

Was it Karl Marx who first coined the phrase commodity fetishism? I think of those two words every time I pass a shop or surf a site selling any kind of add-ons for already blinged-up techy stuff. It’s something I don’t understand and have no desire to buy, but I’m not a complete technophobe. I’m the sort of person who’ll give you a nasty stare if I’m sat next to you on the tube with your swish, bang, swish, swish, bang coming out of your ears and into my space. Did I just say MySpace? Ooh, don’t get me started on social networking sites.

I remember the days when th’internet was all green fields and html code and by gum it seems like hard work when you can now tickle your mouse to carry out the equivalent of a whole screen of code. 14, count ‘em, 14 years ago social networking sites meant something very different indeed.

In my case, the social aspects of the web came from meeting up, in real life, with real people (yes, we really did this, folks) who shared the same interests. We’d meet online, groups of regular posters to a soap opera fan Usenet group and after exchanging emails and posts we’d head in large groups and small ones, to the pub, for a curry, up and down the country and then post pictures and reviews the next day. Not only did we talk about our favourite soap (ok, it was Corrie) but the joy was in meeting up with someone you’d only known as Elsie_Tanner_No7 for the past three months.

It was quite a surprise, at first, to find Elsie was a bearded fella in his 50s but as Corrie itself attracts gay, straight and transsexual fans, the people I met through the group were as varied and interesting as anyone you'd ever find on TV.As the newsgroup, and internet, grew in popularity and more people joined the Usenet community, a weekend in Blackpool was arranged with overseas posters even coming in from Canada and the US . A good time was had by all even if I did get an electric shock from the washbasin in my bedroom of the very dodgy B&B we’d been booked into after one of our group found it online – a rare occurrence back in 1995. The Corrie group of fans meeting up over the years has evolved and there have been weddings and partnerships of people who have met up online. Now that’s social networking. So don’t expect me to get excited by F... F... F... Facebook, give me Elsie_Tanner_No7 any day for a chat and a pint - in real life.

Coronation Street Weekly Update

I've been writing Coronation Street Weekly Updates for th'internet since 1995. I'm 102 you know.

The latest weekly update has just gone live here. This week's update misquotes from Animal Farm and shows you where the stopcock is.

January in the garden

The first of the spring flowers have made an appearance in the garden. They're early this year. Last year's snowdrops didn't start coming up until later in the month.

Urban foxes

Spotted now and then at the bottom of our urban London garden over the years has been a fox. If we were lucky, it might appear once or twice a year during the day, probably looking for food and leaving footprints in the snow - have a look here.

Yesterday morning from the kitchen window we saw not one fox, but two. And they weren't lurking at the end of the garden, they were roaming on the lawn and then curled up together to sleep under the apple tree. If I'd managed to get a photo of them, they might have looked something like this, only a bit more scruffy and well, Londonish.

Golden Compass

To the flicks this week to see Golden Compass. I'd tried to read the book on which it's based, Philip Pullman's Northern Lights, ages ago and couldn't get my head around daemons and talking polar bears so gave up the book in a strop. So this wasn't my ideal sort of film to sit through but I did so and fairly enjoyed it. If I had to rate it I'd give it 6 out of 10.

However, it did prompt me to wonder what my own daemon would be. I'd like a large black furry dog which at a a moment's notice could turn into a ladybird I could store in a matchbox.

Coronation Street Weekly Update

I've been writing weekly Corrie updates for th'internet since 1995 and the latest one has just gone live right here.

This week's Coronation Street weekly update comes complete with Maria on a mountain top and a chunk of Kendal Mint Cake.

Bedroom TV

There are some channels in the nether regions of Sky TV which the remote control only finds when we've had too much to drink on a Saturday night or are bored out of our brains and too lazy to do anything but flick the switch and see what's on.

Last week, after too much Bailey's Irish Cream and liquor chocolates after Christmas, we came across channel 376 and Bedroom TV. It's not what you think - it's far better - and worse. It's a channel made up of ordinary people (that's you, me and the bloke next door) who have videoed themselves lip synching to songs, and are stars of the channel. I know, it sounds awful - and it is, but it's addictive as hell. The website is here if you want to know more but if you've got Sky, get your remote pointed at 376 now and settle down for a giggle with a big glass of wine.

Taking down the Chrimbo tree

It's twelfth night so today the Christmas tree was taken down and thrown away for recycling into toilet roll holders or packets of Corn Flakes, who knows? The house looks fresh again, ready for a new year and a new start and the no-drop tree from Homebase we bought in early December kept its promise and hardly dropped any needles at all. I like it when things do as they're supposed.

Displacement and writing

Ok, it's time for an update on how the novel is progressing. I know that writing this blog post is an excuse not to write any more of the novel for a while but I understand displacement activity is common while writing. This morning my good intentions of writing came to nought when displacement knocked me sideways as I heard the kitchen cry out to be cleaned and the bedroom carpet said it needed to feel the warmth of the Dyson tickle its tufted tum.

Word count so far: 6,126. Chapter one is complete and I am right happy.

Capital Woman 2008

It's Capital Woman day on Saturday, March 8. Mark the date in your diary and register for your ticket now. If you're a woman and live in London, this is one of the best days in the city. And it's free too.

Coronation Street Weekly Update

I've been writing Coronation Street Weekly Updates for th'internet since 1995.

The latest update is now live right here.

Complete with added nutmeg and a hairy chest.